Tastes Like Homemade: Some Classic Kitchen Secrets

Have you ever been at a restaurant and wondered how the food was made? Have you ever tried to make the food by yourself at home? Use the tips provided to prepare favorite meals and make new meals for all kinds of occasions. Cooking is an enjoyable and calming hobby for all kinds of people.

Cooking with skewers may seem easy; however, there are some tips that will make your skewer cuisine delicious every time. Squared or twisted metal skewers secure the food better than rounded ones.

If cooking with skewers is something you are considering, then you will want to know certain things. If you are using metal skewers, the square or twisted kind are much better than round ones for holding food in place.

You should do the prep work for your meals in advance. Try to have the prep work completed before cooking; this is important. If you are cooking a complex dish, take some of the stress out of it by having your needed ingredients lined up and ready. You can spare yourself a great deal of hassle by doing prep work in advance.

Slice meat on the bias very thin when you are making stir fry. This can take time and be tricky. Once the meat is firm, not frozen, cut across the grain at a 45-degree angle.

One thing that you can do is to bake a pie or tart crust longer to optimize quality. Wait until the crust turns golden rather than pale blond. This indicates the sugar has turned to caramel. Your crust will have a sweeter and crispier flavor.

Corn Starch

If you are making stir-fry meals, you should slice the meat as thin as possible and cut it on the bias. This can require some time and some effort. Before the meat is frozen (but when it is firm), pull the meat from the freezer, and slice the meat at a forty-five degree angle.

There is a secret to thicken up your weak sauce. In a small bowl, combine two tablespoons of water and 3 teaspoons of corn starch. Simmer the sauce, and slowly stir the corn starch mixture in. Try to incorporate it slowly so that you do not make it too thick.

Season meat very sparingly to begin with and add more during the cooking process. You have to use caution when seasoning certain meats, such as meatballs, meatloaf and hamburgers. Do not cook it all after seasoning. Rather, set aside a small bit of the meat and cook it the same way you will make the rest. You are then able to decide whether to cook the rest of the meat that way, or adjust your seasoning accordingly.

Having knives that are very sharp is essential when cooking. Dull knives not only are ineffective, but they’re also dangerous! When you use a dull knife, you often have to force the blade through whatever you are cutting. Using a sharp knife is much easier and safer.

Nearly any recipe benefits from using fresh ingredients rather than the frozen or dried version. Use fresh ingredients, as they bring out the flavor in a dish, and they are also less expensive.

Sometimes, your burgers can stick onto the grill. This makes removing them extremely difficult or impossible without compromising their shape. Brush the grill with oil so that food does not stick to it. Vegetable oil works great and will not make your grill greasy.

For crispier French fries, you should chill the peeled potatoes in water for 30 minutes or more before frying them. The soaking process will reinforce the vegetable fibers, and they will be better able to withstand heat when you fry them.

Optimize your efforts when making your own chicken stock. Plan on preparing a large pot of stock in order to freeze it for storing. You can use the stock as a base for all kinds of soups or even casseroles. Let your stock cool off and pour it inside Ziploc bags.

While garlic imparts a delicious flavor to your cooking, it may also leave a residual odor on your hands. If you have a stainless steel sink or other utensil, rub your hands over the inside of the sink to remove the smell. This works for onions as well. This will take care of the odors clinging to your hands and enable you to handle other ingredients without contaminating them with strong aromas.

You should use chicken broth when you are cooking your vegetables. Not only will the chicken broth stop the vegetables from getting stuck to the pan, but it will also make the dish more tasty. Chicken broth is dirt cheap, and can be bought at any supermarket.

Has there ever been an occasion where you had trouble determining how long you should grill your meat? It’s always good to use a high-quality meat thermometer to ensure you correctly cook the inside. If your meat is thicker than 1.5 inches, consider closing the grill lid to reduce grilling time.

Before cooking your pumpkin, have it standing in a vertical position and slice it directly down from the stem the entire way around, making two equal halves. On a baking sheet, put one of the halves face down. Use a different baking sheet for the other half. Sprinkle your baking sheets with a little water, and roast the pumpkin halves for an hour at 350 degrees.

If you are intending to use skewers when you cook, do not forget to soak them in water for at least half an hour before you use them if they are wooden. This will prevent them from burning while you are cooking. To prevent food from falling from the skewers, use two parallel skewers rather than just one.

Leave the bone in your roast if you are in a hurry. The roast will get done sooner because the bone will direct the heat right to your roaster. When the meat has cooled enough to let the juices settle all you have to do is go around the bone when cutting and serve.

If you are going to cook a pumpkin, get it into an upright position and then split in half straight down the center. Put each half on a separate baking sheet, upside down. Sprinkle some water on both baking sheets, then at 350 degrees bake the pumpkin for about an hour.

You can make many preparations a day in advance to keep serving a family dinner from getting overwhelming. Cut up ingredients the night before you plan on cooking a meal to save some time. This way, you will be completely ready to cook and less stressed when you have to complete the meal.

Dried Tomatoes

Even on simple dishes like mac and cheese, going letter by letter on the directions always gets you the best results. Remember that the makers of your mac and cheese designed these instructions with the best possible result in mind. You can eat macaroni and cheese with a spoon or fork, although it’s probably easier to scoop it up quicker with a spoon. Spice up the dish with a bit of salt and black pepper.

You can make dried tomatoes yourself. Slice tomatoes 1/2″ thick to dry. Romas should be cut in two lengthwise. Place on a cooling rack, cut-side up and lightly salt them. Then place that on a baking sheet and dry them in an oven that is 190 degrees for 10 hours. The tomatoes can then be placed in plastic bags and stored in the freezer. Dried tomatoes can be placed into a jar that is filled with fresh herbs and olive oil. Keep it refrigerated and use it within two weeks.

When boiling pasta, salt the cooking water generously. Seasoning added while it cooks will “set” in the pasta. Salting after boiling your pasta will not give the same effect of absorption.

Prepare your meal ahead of time so you can leave it sitting for a few minutes. This is very important for the juices to be absorbed back into your meat. Many are tempted to quickly serve food hot off the grill or stovetop. But, you will not enjoy the full flavor and texture of your meal if you engage in this practice. Let the meal be for a few minutes, and give it time it cool off.

Explore creativity when you cook. You need not follow a recipe exactly. Experimenting fearlessly with cooking, adding a new ingredient, cutting one out, and changing amounts is how great new recipes are born. That’s how real cooks do it!

Always take good care of your wooden cutting board. Your wooden cutting board can be damaged by too much moisture or too much heat. The result can be warping or splitting. The board has to be washed, but just lightly go over it with soapy water. Don’t submerge the board in the dishpan. If your board becomes damaged, use an oil consistently that is made for wood boards. Allow your board to dry completely between uses.

Ensure that herbs and spices are stored in an area that is dark, dry and cool. Spices rapidly lose their flavor and aroma if they are kept in areas that are bright, humid, or warm. Such close proximity to these three factors will cause your spices to lose their flavors.

Believe it or not, there’s quite a bit of variation among different types of potatoes. Waxy potatoes are good for boiling or using in potato salads, but they make poor french fries or mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes are more suited to those applications because of their fluffy texture.

New ways to prepare oysters. Conventionally, oysters are served raw with a small drizzling of lemon juice, however, there are lots of other ways that you can present them. Place oysters that have been opened on a pan and cover them with a bit of cream. Drop fresh black pepper and Parmesan on top of them, and place under the broiler until they start to bubble. You can also saute oysters. Use a small amount of seasoned flour to dredge the oysters, then fry them for 2 minutes. Bake the oysters while they are still in their shells. Put them in a baking dish, add fresh breadcrumbs and a small dab of butter on each oyster, then bake four or five minutes at 425 degrees. Remove when the juices and butter start to bubble; serve immediately, accompanied by a freshly-toasted baguette.

If you have a dish you are looking to reheat that is filled with oil, consider baking it instead of microwaving it to keep away a ton of grease. Because oil tends to get hot quickly, a microwave’s concentrated heat causes it to become separated from the rest of the food. When you use the oven to reheat a dish, the heat will come slower and more consistent, which will keep the ingredients cohesive and the dish flavorful.

Stacking cooling racks can be a lifesaver in the kitchen. Especially if you are whipping up big batches of your favorites cookies or other goodies, the results of your baking can take up a considerable amount of space in your kitchen – space you could better utilize. These cooling racks will help you keep your space open for use. Your cookies can cool on the rack, but you will still have full use of your kitchen surfaces.

You should replace the water in soup, mashed potatoes, and many other dishes with beef or chicken stock to make them more flavorful. You can use bouillon cubes if you do not have any stock handy as a substitute. This is a good way to moisten your food while adding more flavor.

Use a baking potato with thick skin to get a good, firm shell when making potato skins or twice baked potatoes. Red potatoes are not ideal for a dense filling.

If you use the informatin from this article you have the choice of becoming a great cook-at-home chef. Keep trying new things and use your imagination as you try different recipes. With all the wonderful foods from different cultures, the sky is the limit when it comes to variety and creativity in your cooking!

Use ketchup in batters for fried foods. Not only is ketchup good for dipping food into after they’re cooked, it’s also good when you dip food into it before putting them in breadcrumbs. The ketchup imparts an unexpected, but delicious tang to your fried foods, and will have all your friends asking for your secret.